According to a study done by online advertising network Chitika, who analyzed 32 million ad impressions across a network of 50,000 websites, users of Microsoft’s new search engine may be more receptive to advertisements, based on a 1.5% click-through rate for Bing compared to. 97% for Google and 1.24% for Yahoo. The ‘why’ behind Chitika’s findings can be speculated at length, although it seems a bit early in the game to come to any real conclusion. It has been nearly 2 months since Bing’s official June 3rd launch, and heavy promotion to the tune of 100 million ad dollars is likely to have made an impact in driving users to the site. As many have said, it makes sense a user clicking on an ad directing them to Bing is likely to click on an ad within Bing, but this is hardly conclusive evidence and making any sweeping generalizations about Bing users is premature.

Nonetheless, the findings of Chitika’s study are interesting, and help flesh out the argument that Microsoft may have a real shot at stealing some of the paid search market from Google. Looking at ComScore’s June 2009 search engine rankings report, it is clear Bing’s .04% increase in market share in June puts nary a dent in Google’s 65%, and while growth is good at a time when internet activity seems to be reaching a plateau, it is too early to say just how well Bing will fare over time, and whether Google has any reason to worry.

If the impending MSFT/Yahoo deal isn’t reason enough for Google to step up its game, maybe the fact that my Google search results are becoming less relevant and more convoluted is.

This first struck my attention early last year when I found it was taking me longer to find what I needed online. I figured my disappointment with Google’s search results was the result of algorithm changes and SEO, and I assumed I needed to adjust my approach and use more long-tail keywords. But things just seem to be getting worse.
Today, a search for one of my blog post’s returned a content aggregator site as the #1 result. I clicked, hoping it would take me to my post immediately, and my virus detector alerted me it was blocking the site for malicious activity.

I know this stuff happens, Google, but really? Malicious sites in the top 10 results? Not to mention the random blog posts and reviews returned when I’m looking to buy a product, or the overall proliferation of well-optimized fluff. I used to swear by you Google, but I am ready to try something new.

What do you think? Have you spent any time using Bing? Have you noticed Google search results becoming less relevant? Do you think a Yahoo/Microsoft deal will change the way we search? Post your thoughts below! I’ve added Bing to my list of search engines in my Firefox toolbar, so I’ll let you know how it goes.

scary thought, but I too used to swear by the big G. but I do agree, there is way too much chaff to sort through to find any wheat these days. People seem to catch on quickly to G’s preference in assigning ranking to a site or page and are focusing more on beating the system than generating quality content or sites of relevance. It reminds me of the old days when people would flood their meta keyword and description tags with irrelevant, but common search terms just to get eyeballs on their pages. It’s what put so many people of Yahoo and encouraged people to make the switch to G.

I’m seeing more people hitting our company’s site through Bing than G. I doubt this is simply through idle curiosty by our customers, but an intended switch to better results.

Not being a fan of Microsoft at all, I find it bites that I’m having to use their site purely on the basis they are actually giving me results.

It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest that in a few years we begin verbing “Bing” as we have done with Google.

Google have definitely shot themselves in the foot by concentrating on un-used, technical excercises such as Knol or Wave. They could have used that brain power to gain leverage over the up-and-coming competition. Instead they appear to have become complacent. The lack of relevance may also be a shrewd business move on Google’s behalf. They may be thinking that if they provide worthless results in the natural indexing it will force the hand of CPC and line their pockets with more advertising revenue.